Improvement in treating cotton-seed



i that the following is .a full, clear,` andexact descrip` ingl cotton-seed for shipping, whereby itinay be pre#- seri'ed' in a hulle-d and" ground condition, 'before L expressijnlg the oil,- in a .sweet and healthy state for i any-lengtlir of time required by the-exfigencies oftrade,

for shipping .upon long routes at sica.-

l' for market, to a heating process," preferably in; are- 'volVing-cyiiinier, over a lire or `strain catingfappa i may be used in carrying-'out 'my invention; and

` been `resorted 'to considerably-f,I the oil 'being extracted "after the oil has 'beenextraeteth also for fcrtilizing t, ing the hulls to domesticand foi-'eign' market-s without pers, owing to the. seed becoming rancid' in avery unprotected seed andthe water and oilicontained init. This result has necessitated the grinding and press- Lener y yraiettfi'ro.112,628, dated 4Narni 14, 1871.

iMPRoil'EMi-:NT IN TREATL'NG COTTON-SEED.

The `Schedule rei'erredtc these Letters Patent and making partof filename.

To `alliwhom, fit may concern: i i

Be it known thatl, JOSEPH J. POW-Ens, of Memphis, inthe county of Shelby and State of Alennessee, hryre i'n'rented a new and useful Improvement .in Treating Cotton-seed; and 1 do hereby declare' tion, which will enable lothers skilled in the artto.4 malte and usethc same, Areference being had to the n "fing-lauf* rf-fe; part of this specifica;

lion. v A

This invention relates to improvements -in' prepar- The invention consistsin subjecting vthe "ponudv meal or theunground hulled seed, previous `to packing latsand then to a Cooling and drying vprocess in another revolvingcylinder,fthrough which a current of airis blown by a fan. i i

`The cylinders are preferably use d'-u the heating and drying operationspbeingthe vmostconvenlent and economical7 but other-.equivalent or competent meansmay'bensed.- i y Figure V1 isa 'side elevation of apptuutns which lfigure 2 is a plan-yiew of the saine.

Cotton-,seed yields L -large amountof oil, which is' useful 4for various purposes, and Vhas ot' recent date by hnlling and grinding .the seed and pressing the. meal. lhek meal i's also useful ts food for animals,

But up to the present ytime theya'st quantities of cotton-seed now produced in the Southernbtates, and estimated to possess a large percentage of the money value for useful pnrpo'sesof the cotton'itsf'lf, it properly utilized, has been almost wlioily wasted 'for want of a sucee `riul modeoi" treatment, whereby it may be shipped with economyand success.

While the seed may beshipped preijions to reinov deteriorating, it is inexpedient'todo "so, on account of y the extra eost of freight, due to the great proportion of Weightand liiillrot thehull, and which is entirely useless, the saine vbeing about half the total weight.` y Tl ierefore, eorts havebeen made to ship the'hulled seed, which have resulted very disastrously to the Shpf short time by the action ot" thentm'osphere upon the ingof the seed in the localities where it is 'produc-ed, and Vtheshipping therefrom ofthe oil and the pressed i cake.

Thile .by Vered in market with tolerably satisfactory` results, yet great loss often occursI by the cake becoming damp and rancid on shipboard; also, by breaking and wasting; anda considerable-percentage of' oil is lost byleakage of barrels.

imperfeetly-arrang'ed nrills throughout the country,

"where capital fand skilled 'labor are scarce and expensive. 1 It is also objectionable on accountof theexpensive packages required for the oil.

For these and other reasons it is highly important,

. forthesuccessfuldevelopment of this'"important and comparatively newindustry, that the meal, separated fromv the hull, may be conveyed to market, before pressing the oil from it', inacondition in which it will iu-:ep sweet and healthy for a long time;

I have therefore adopted the plan of subjecting the' ground meal to'` the action of'heat forex'pelling the water, and toa cooling and drying` process, in. which* the air is blown through `itwh ile in a stateof motion,

'for carrying 'oi the condensed steam adhering to iti after passing from the lire, and rapidly coolingr t, so

that itmay he packed inbags, barrels,or other elrea 1'.:- VA paekages, with considerable pressure,'whereby it will-1;.

be lso condensed as not to absorb moisture afterward,

n and be insuch condition as to be--shilliped-convenently. i

Thisls'eparationof the water notonly facilitates the preservationLof the meal, but it reduces the weight by.

theyamount of the water expelled, and thereforeV cheapensthefcostof shipping.-

In carrying out-this mode of treatment, I proposeV to conduct the ground meal from the grinding-.mill to a revolving-cylinder A, ofsheet metal, working over are, or steam heat, applied in anyway to heat it as it passes through from-fone end to theother; and from this' cylinder' cominci;- it'b'y-any `suitable means to another,` B, wherein `it 'is subjected to the 4action of a gentle blast of air from a fanblower, C, as it'pa'sses along through, by which it will not only be cooled, but.

the moisture adhering `to t'by reason of the partial 'condensation of the water, expelled fromv itin apors 'by=tlie'heat,will be dried away. v Y. 'I may employ any other suitable. means or apparatus lfor'heating and drying the meal, but. I prefer such an` arrangement as here shown;

, I may'also apply the same 'treatment tothe seed while'in the kerneh'after'being-hulled, with good ref- 4suits; and I propose, inv some' eases, todoit Vin this way afterward, grinding and packing-it, '01, I ,may packit inthe kernel; but generally it will be prefera- -this pla-n the oil and cake maybc'deliv--' It is 'objectionable on account. Vof the neeessityiot 'the =work being done in small l' and able to dry and cool itin `nhe meal; as the operation con 'be carried on more yrz" idly, owing to the disinte gmted `condition of the se d.

nenas seed vhy a heating :md drying process, previous to packing for shipment, substantially as herein spec- Thezibove speciiioation of my invention signed by me this 15th day of Februruy, 18.71.

JOSEPH J. POWERS 'Witnesses v GEO. W. MABEE, ALEX. F. Romans 

